Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Here is what's trending right now in the village:Dorchester FBLA Hosting Holiday Vendor Gathering, Nov. 27: Dorchester's Future Business Leaders of America chapter will be hosting a Holiday Vendor Extravaganza in the high school gyms on Nov. 27, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event is intended to raise money for Longhorn students who attend the National FBLA Conference. If you know of vendors, craft booths, or businesses that would like to advertise for the holiday season, please have them contact the school at 402-946-2781. The word is there are already 30 vendors for this huge event. To purchase a booth space for your business, organization or craft, e-mail Mrs. Lewis at klewis@dorchesterschool.org.Dorchester Business Directory Now Online: Need a list of Dorchester businesses and their contact information? It's all available now by clicking here. The list is part of the Village of Dorchester's official site. Support Dorchester's small businesses today.Dorchester FBLA And EPAC Halloween Party Is This Saturday: The Dorchester High School FBLA and Dorchester's Elementary Parents Advisory Committee (EPAC) is planing a Halloween party for this Saturday, Oct. 29, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Hayrack rides, a haunted hallway and games and snacks are just some of the fun awaiting those who are brave enough to attend. For questions or to volunteer, contact Amanda Cerny or the school at (402) 946-2781. EPAC is overseen by parents and the school to help DPS teachers and students with classroom supplies, while also advancing the academic pursuits of Dorchester's elementary students.

Dorchester Establishments To Hold Halloween Parties This Saturday: This Saturday may be a crazy, scary one on main street Dorchester. City Slickers (formerly known as Joe's Place) will have a Halloween party "filled with plenty of food, fun and, of course, drinks. Costume contest with cash prizes, as well as drawings for City Slickers gift certificates and giveaways all night. The band 300 Proof will be rockin' the house." Also on Saturday evening, another Halloween party will be taking place across the street -- at Dorchester's newest establishment, Big T's BBQ Pit Stop. We're told there will be food and drink specials all day, along with a costume contest and games starting at 9 p.m. with raffle drawings throughout the night.

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Main Street Dorchester in 1906 with ponies from Col. Thompson's Elmwood Pony Farm.

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Dorchester Cooperative feed mill fire in the 1950s.

Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester's West Mills, 1910. The mill, built by some of the area's first settlers, sat on the West Fork Big Blue River and was completed in 1864.

Dorchester-Area Job Listings

Live in Dorchester and still find a career in almost any sector. See today's latest Dorchster-area job listings by clicking here.

Join Dorchester Community Foundation Today

Want to make Dorchester an even better place to call home? Join the Dorchester Community Foundation. The Foundation and its fund have already spurred several community improvements, such as the city park renovation and the new 'Welcome to Dorchester' signs. To donate, simply click here.

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.

* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.

* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.

* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.

* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.

* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.

* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.

* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

Dorchester's Main Street, 1908, looking north.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester's Methodist Church circa 1889-90, shortly after the building was moved from Pleasant Hill.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:

* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."

* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."

* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."

* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."

* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."

* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."

Portrait of three boys in costume on a dirt road in Dorchester, early 1900s. One is dressed as a Uncle Sam, while the other two are dressed as Native Americans, complete with feathered headdresses, fringed clothing and bows. Photo by Russell Freidell.

Dorchester Homes For Sale

Dorchester offers friendly, small-community living for families and individuals. The cost of living here is one of the nation's most affordable, while the quality of life is tremendous. Click here for the latest Dorchester area real estate listings.

The "famous Dorchester race car" from the 1930s, built and raced by Henry Sehnert, the village's longtime Ford auto dealer.

Dorchester Items On eBay

See what Dorchester-related items are for sale on eBay by clicking here. It should be noted that the Dorchester Times is neither affiliated with eBay, nor do we receive compensation from the company.

1909 Dorchester baseball team.

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The Old Dorchester School used from 1890-1927.

Current Dorchester Demographics

Click here for the most up-to-date information on Dorchester, including information and statistics on our residents, housing, school, businesses and climate.

Dorchester's train depot as featured in a postcard from the early 1900s.

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Today's city hall as it appeared circa 1920, when it housed the Citizens State Bank, post office and Masonic Hall (upstairs).

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Gathering at Dorchester's fairgrounds, 1908

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Dorchester's Charles Havlat was the very last U.S. soldier killed in action in the European operations of WWII. Private Havlat was shot May 7, 1945, while on patrol in Bohemia, by German soldiers who were unaware a ceasefire had been declared.

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The Dorchester telephone building, which housed operators and switchboards, as it appeared in the 1920s.